Whether you have privacy concerns or you just want to freely tinker, these are our favorite alternatives to stock Android.

Jon has been an author at Android Police since 2021. He primarily writes features and editorials covering the latest Android news, but occasionally reviews hardware and Android apps. His favorite ...

One feature that makes Android so special is the freedom to sideload APK (Android Package Kit) files, letting you install compatible apps outside the Play Store. The good news is that sideloading ...

Android 17 will introduce “Registered App Stores” as a result of the Epic settlement, allowing users to install rival marketplaces through a single, uniform screen. This eliminates security warnings ...

Google will start taking action on Android apps in the official Google Play store that have high background activity and cause excessive battery draining. Apps that exceed a "bad behavior threshold" ...

While Android Auto may have its own quirks and shortcomings, it's one of the best and safest ways to use certain functions of your smartphone when driving. If you wish to make a call, play music, or ...

The first preview release of the Swift SDK for Android was published this week, allowing developers to build Android apps in Swift with official tooling and making it easier to share code across iOS ...

You might close apps to speed up your phone, but Android already limits idle apps to save battery, so you don't need to micromanage them. Apps like Gmail still run background services to deliver ...

Android’s open nature set it apart from the iPhone as the era of touchscreen smartphones began nearly two decades ago. Little by little, Google has traded some of that openness for security, and its ...

Android developers using third-party app stores will soon need their identity confirmed by Google. Android developers using third-party app stores will soon need their identity confirmed by Google. ...

Google will implement a new safety feature that would require developers to verify their identity if they want Android users to be able to sideload their apps. The company said that it made the ...

To combat malware and financial scams, Google announced today that only apps from developers that have undergone verification can be installed on certified Android devices starting in 2026. This ...